The South Korean government will develop the "K-beauty" industry, long centered on cosmetics manufacturing and exports, into a high value-added service sector spanning artificial intelligence-based skin analysis, customized product manufacturing and medical tourism. It will ease staffing rules for cosmetics stores that use AI and lower barriers for foreign tourists seeking medical and beauty services. The aim is to turn beauty-related services, not just cosmetics sales, into a new export engine.
The government announced the plan, titled "Support Measures for AI and Convergence K-Beauty Services," on the 14th at a meeting of economy-related ministers that doubled as a session of the service industry development task force. As a first step, it will review easing visa requirements for medical and wellness tourism aimed at foreign visitors. Under current rules, applicants must intend to receive treatment or recuperative care at a domestic medical institution to obtain a medical tourism visa. A pilot program for medical tourism visas will also be launched in the first half of next year.
The government will also promote AI-based customized cosmetics manufacturing. It plans to revise relevant laws next year so that a single licensed compounding manager can oversee multiple stores using AI and automated equipment. A data bank that has accumulated skin information on more than 17,000 people in 18 countries will be restructured into a format suitable for AI training. The goal is to help companies develop products that analyze consumers' skin conditions and blend suitable ingredients. The government will also provide 7.2 billion won ($5 million) from this year through next year for the development of AI technology for quality control in cosmetics manufacturing processes.
Through the measures, the government intends to foster K-beauty as a national growth driver. It had earlier identified the promotion of beauty service exports as a key task in this year's economic growth strategy. President Lee Jae-myung also signaled continued support in a congratulatory address at a Cosmetics Day ceremony in September last year, saying, "K-beauty is no longer simply a product but is becoming a culture in itself."
Behind the push is the rapidly growing global beauty market. According to the Ministry of Finance and Economy, the global market for customized cosmetics is growing more than 30% a year. Spending by foreign visitors to Korea on convergence services such as beauty and medical tourism, as compiled by the Korea Tourism Organization, surged about 56% to 2.5662 trillion won last year from 1.6479 trillion won in 2024. As interest in Korean cosmetics spreads to skin care and cosmetic procedures, the growth potential of related industries has expanded as well.
The government also plans to accelerate work on enacting a framework act on service industry development. It judges that industries such as beauty and lodging are managed mainly through regulation under the Public Health Control Act, which limits efforts to nurture them. Oversight of cosmetics, beauty services, tourism and medical care is currently scattered across multiple agencies, including the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. In the case of the domestic customized cosmetics market, even its exact size has not been tallied, pointing to a need to strengthen the statistical base.
For those reasons, the government plans to promote convergence across industries through the legislation while pursuing systematic support measures. "Compared with manufacturing, the K-beauty service industry has received insufficient support relative to its growth potential," said Joo Hwan-wook, policy coordination officer at the Ministry of Finance and Economy. "We will work actively with the National Assembly so that the framework act on service industry development can be enacted."